When did smaller-sized camera sensors start getting such a bad rap?

In response to my recent article on EVFs – or, rather, the lack of them in so-called vlogging mirrorless cameras – a reader sent me an interesting email, adding some further observations which got me thinking about a related topic. In my ‘Opinion’ piece I observed that if Canon could put a perfectly good EVF into the superbly-compact PowerShot G5X (the first-gen model, by the way), for example, then there really is no excuse for not having one in the likes of the Fujifilm X-M5 or the Panasonic Lumix S9. 

Regardless of whether vlogging cameras are primarily designed for video – when having an EVF isn’t so important – they surely have other applications. The X-M5 really is a brilliant little package that’s however flawed by not having an eyelevel viewfinder which would increase its appeal for photographers. 

Tying in with another topic I discussed a while back, it does seem that the camera-makers don’t want us photographers being seduced by more affordable entry-level models when they could potentially get you behind something much pricier. And, increasingly these days, something bigger and heavier.

My correspondent noted that he’s been using a PowerShot G5X for years because of its very small size combined with ‘big camera’ features including compatibility with Canon’s e-TTL flash system. He even still uses it to shoot events paired with a compatible Godox flashgun which he hand-holds off-camera to avoid red-eye. He notes too, that the smaller sensor’s inherently greater depth-of-field is advantageous when photographing, for example, people sitting at a long table, ensuring everybody is in focus. 

So, tell me, when did smaller-sized sensors start getting a bad rap? After all, creating more compact cameras – and lenses – was initially one of the key design briefs behind the mirrorless configuration, and the likes of Nikon and Pentax thought that even the Micro Four Thirds sensor size was too big… hence the Nikon 1 and Pentax Q subcompact systems. 

Now there are mirrorless camera bodies that make full-frame DSLRs look small…and they’re either MFT or ‘APS-C’ format! Cameras like the 2015 PowerShot G5X were smaller again, but still very capable with, in this particular case, 20.2 megapixels res and a 24-100mm equivalent zoom. 

The 1-inch size sensor actually performed very well as did the even-smaller 12 MP 2/3-inch ‘X-Trans II’ imager in the 2014 Fujifilm X30 that I owned for quite a while and used extensively – and successfully – when traveling. It had an OLED EVF, but the earlier X20 used a simplified version of Fujifilm’s famed hybrid optical ’finder. 

Sony’s third-gen Cyber-shot RX100 III (2014) introduced a pop-up EVF with opinion still divided on how well it works… but it’s still better than nothing (and, incidentally, the RX100 Mk VII version remains available today). 

Other notables were the Four-Thirds format Panasonic Lumix LX100 (2014) and LX100 II (2018) along with their Leica D-Lux doubles if you were happy to pay premium for the red-dot badge, and of course, Canon’s G1X PowerShots… the Mark I (2012) with an OVF, the Mark III (2017) with an EVF and the Mark II (2014) with the less desirable option of a plug-in accessory EVF, but you’d live with it given everything else about that particular model. 

For a while during the ‘twenty-teens’, there was a reasonable choice if you wanted a high-end digital compact camera with a viewfinder and some sort of fixed zoom lens – and lots of photographers did, even pros. They still do if the buoyant second-hand prices of some of these models are anything to go by which is perhaps not so surprising when the only new options are the Leica D-Lux 8 at around $1,590/£1450 and the aforementioned Sony RX100 VII at a shade under $1700/£1199. The 1-inch sensor, in particular, delivered a brilliant balance of camera size and imaging performance, but the 4/3 Lumixes were also superb, especially the Mark II with a 17 MP sensor matched to the 24-75mm (equivalent) f/1.7-2.8 zoom. Even the most compact mirrorless models available now are still bigger and heavier overall.

There was something hugely appealing about these fixed-lens compacts, not the least aspect being that they’d easily fit into a jacket pocket or a small bag and yet could still pretty well do everything that you wanted… hello, freedom. I can’t help thinking that the cameras that ate all the pies have – at least partially – contributed to people preferring to use their smartphones for photography, especially when travelling. Make small big again.

Look at our guides to the best APS-C compact cameras and the best full-frame compact cameras